August 2009.  The dog days.  It's hot, it's sticky, and the pace is slow.   Maybe it's me, but it seems slower than other years.

Somerville, NJ is a typical county seat.  A nice Main Street, attractive courthouse, good restaurants, friendly people.  During the rest of the year it bustles, if your definition of "bustles" isn't too urban.  But in August?  Why, some weekdays in August when I've gotten to the office at 8:15, it's felt like driving in on a Saturday morning at 7.

Even the weather is slow.  Saw this headline this morning.  The so-called experts have revised their Atlantic storm predictions for this year.  Even the hurricanes have decided to take it easy in August '09.

And, as Jimmy Buffett reminds us, there's no tryin' to reason with hurricane season.

So if we can't reason with the season, what can we do to put August to some productive use before things get crazy again in September?

Businesses and HR departments can use the August lull to review the basics.  Things like making sure that the employee handbook is up to date, harassment training is current, and required postings are done, among other things.  Our next few posts will try to help you make August more productive through a quick refresher course on the HR basics.